Practice board for contract bridge games

ABSTRACT

A practice board for contract bridge games comprising a sheet having indicia showing hands, cards to play, numbers of tricks won, bids, etc. of respective players thereon and arranged in accordance with a predetermined contract bridge game and a cover member overlying the sheet and having apertures formed therein corresponding to said indicia on the sheet and through which the indicia on each single trick can be seen. The predetermined or celebrated contract bridge game can be practiced by sliding the sheet downward relative to the cover member trick by trick to show the indicia on the succeeding trick until all the thirteen tricks are over. The lids are mounted over required apertures so that a user can see only his hand and the dummy, a card played by each player in turn and bids at each round of bidding. The practice board according to the invention is handy, simple in structure and may be manufactured at low cost.

United States Patent 1191 Primary Examiner-Wm. H. Grieb Amano Mar. 19, 1974 PRACTICE BOARD FOR CONTRACT BRIDGE GAMES [57] I ABSTRACT [76] Inventor: 2 $2223; A practice board for contract bridge games comprisy ing a sheet having indicia showing hands, cards to Fuyacho-Takeyamachi Sagaru 1 b f k gy Kyoto Japan p ay, num ers o tric s won, ids, etc. of respective players thereon and arranged in accordance with a [22] Filed: Aug. 7, 1972 predetermined contract bridge game and a cover member overlying the sheet and having apertures [21] Appl' 278458 formed therein corresponding to said indicia on the sheet and through which the indicia on each single [52] U.S. Cl. 35/8 B,-35/75 trick can be seen. The predetermined or celebrated [51] Int. Cl. .L G09b 19/22 contract bridge game can be practiced by sliding the [58] Field of Search 35/8 B, 75 sheet downward relative to the cover member trick by trick to show the indicia on the succeeding trick until [56] References Cited all the thirteen tricks are over. The lids are mounted UNITED STATES PATENTS over required apertures so that a user can see only his 1 hand and the dummy, :1 card played by each player in 2.204 199 6 i940 W ll 2,395,088 21946 Vdn Babo... 3 mm and at each round of The Pram 1983.587 H1935 Ellsworth 3 B board according to the invention is handy, simple in 993,680 5/1911 Herbert .35/75 Structure n may e manufactured at low cost.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEU "AR 1 9 I974 SHEEI 1 0F 2 FIG] Number 01 Tuck: won

hiduwnn SOUTH 7 CZ: Iii

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a practice board for contract bridge games, and more particularly, to a board for practicing on records of predetermined or celebrated contract bridge games by pursuing the games according to the progress thereof.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a practice board for contract bridge games whereby various different records of contract bridge games can be practiced by simply exchanging sheets having the game records marked thereon. I It is another object of the present invention to provide a practice board of the type above-described wherein the user can function either as declarer or the defenders as any of the four players, North, East, South and West, in practicing even on one sheet of a game.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a practice board of the type described which is so constructed that a sheet having a game record marked thereon can be easily and securely shifted relative to a cover member.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a practice board of the type described which is handy to use, simple in structure and capable of being manufactured at a low-cost.

Essentially, according to the present invention, there is provided a practice'board for contract bridge games which comprises a sheet having indicia marked thereon and arranged in accordance with a predetermined contract bridge game; a cover member overlying the sheet and having apertures formed therein corresponding to said indicia on the sheet and through which the indicia on each single trick can be seen, said sheet being arranged to be slidin gly shifted relative to said cover member at the end of the tricks;- and a base member slidably holding said sheet in cooperation with said cover member.

Various further and specific objects, features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description of particular embodiments of the invention taken in connection with accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet having card indicia marked thereon in accordance with a predetermined or celebrated bridge hand to be employed in the practice board of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cover member;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an assembled practice board in certain parts of which are broken away to show the construction more clearly; I

FIG. 4 shows a side elevation of the board of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan viewof a portion of another embodiment of the invention showing a part of a rack and a spring construction slidably supporting the sheet;

FIG. 6 is a further embodiment of the invention showing another construction for supporting the sheet.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 3, reference A represents a sheet having indicia arranged thereon in accordance with a contract bridge game. The sheet A has four sets of first indicia ll each showing the cards held by each player of North, East, South and West and second indicia 2 each showing the cards to be played by each player on respective tricks, two sets of third indicia 3 each showing the number of tricks won by each partnership on the preceding tricks and four sets of fourth indicia 4 each showing bids of each player at respective rounds of bidding. Fifth indicia 5 shows the order of the tricks and sixth indicia'6 is provided to show the dealer.

Reference B represents a cover member formed of cardboard, metal or similar material and having a number of sets of apertures through which the indicia on the sheet A on each one of the 13 tricks can be seen when the cover member B is placed over the sheet A as shown in FIG. 3. The predetermined or celebrated game can be practiced by sliding the sheet A beneath the cover member B downward or toward the user, trick by trick.

The cover member B has four apertures 7 through which the indicia 1 showing the hand can be read, corresponding apertures 8 through which the second indicia 2 showing the playing cards can be read, apertures 9 through which the indicia 3 showing the number of tricks won can be read and apertures 10 through which the indicia 4 showing the bids can be read. An aperture 11 through which the indicia 5 showing the order of the tricks can be read and aperture 12 through which the dealer of the indicia 6 can be read are further provided. Numeral 1 in the indicia 5 means trick No. I.

In proceeding with the game, the sheet A is first set so that the numeral 1 appears through the aperture 11 of the cover member B. At this moment, through the apertures 7N, 7E, 78 and 7W there are indicated the cards in the hands of the respective players which are arranged suit by suit. Through the apertures ION, 10E, 10S and 10W can be seen the bids at respective rounds of bidding. Slidable or other movable lids 13 are mounted on thecover member B to cover the apertures ION, ME, 108 and 10W such that the apertures can be opened in order to show the bids at the first, second and succeeding rounds. Similar lids (not shown) are mounted on the apertures 7N, 7E, 78 and 7W and the apertures 8N, 8E, 88 and 8W whereby the cards can be read only when the apertures are open.

If the user is South, the aperture 78 is arranged to open leaving the remaining three sets of the cards covered with the lids. The thirteen cards now shown in the aperture are the hand of South. Since the dealer is North in this game, as shown by the indicia 6, the aperture ION is first opened by a space corresponding to one round to show that Norths first bid is one club. Then, the aperture 10E is opened to learn that East overcalls with onespade. It is now the users turn to bid. While the aperture is kept closed, the user can study to bid on the exposed hand shown through the aperture 78. Then, he may compare his bid with the correct bid of the indicia 48 by moving the lid 138 to open the aperture 108 by one round of bidding. If his bid is different from that indicated by the indicia 45, he may determine the reason why he has made the different bid.

Then the aperture W is opened to learn Wests bid. At the second round of bidding, the apertures 10N and 10E are further opened in order to show Norths and Souths second bids. The users own bid is studied on his exposed hand and then, the aperture 108 is further opened to show his bid at the second round. In this game record, the opener is North and the contract is 4 spades of West whereby the declarer is East who bids the suit before West does.

The apertures 10N 10W are all closed and now the play begins.

Since the declarer is East, the opening lead is made by South, selecting one card from the 13 cards shown through the aperture 78. The opening lead is predetermined as the ten of clubs. However, while the aperture 85 is kept closed, the user may think over his hand as to which card he should lead. After the card to lead is decided, the aperture 88 is opened to know the correct opening lead. Confirmation or examination of his play follows in a similar manner to bidding.

Since West is the dummy, Wests hand is exposed by opening the aperture 7W which is kept open all through the deal. Then the aperture 8W is opened to see which card of the dummy is played by the declarer. The apertures 8N and 8B are successively opened and all the four cards from respective players are shown. In this game, East wins the trick with the ace of clubs.

Then, the sheet is slidingly pulled downward or toward the user, after the apertures 8N 8W are all closed, to show No. 2 of the indicia 5 through the aperture 11. The 12 cards left in the respective hands are 7 shown through the apertures 7N 7W though, covered with the lids with the exception of 78. It is shown through the aperture 9W that the declarers side won the previous trick and has already gained one trick. The aperture SE is opened to see the card which East leads. A card is selected from the 12 cards in Souths hand shown through the aperture 75, and confirmation or examination follows by opening the aperture 83. Thereafter, the apertures SW and 8N are opened to see the winner of the second trick.

The apertures 8N 8W are all closed and the sheet is pulled further to show No. 3 through the aperture 11. Thus, inthe same manner, the play is repeated until the thirteenth trick is over. In the game record indicated on the sheet of FIG. 1, the declarer wins 10 tricks and his contract of four spades has been just made.

Though the user is supposed to be South in the above description, he may be any of the four players in practicing on the present practice board. In any case, the user can see only his hand and the dummy. The apertures of the other two players are kept closed except the apertures 8.

Referring to FIGS. 3 5, reference numeral 20 represents a base member formed integrally with the cover member B or rigidly fixed thereto. A'support member 21 having a step 22 which forms a recess inside for firmly holding the sheet A is slidably provided in a space between the cover member B and the base member 20. For detaching the sheet A from the support member 21, in the recess of the member 21 is formed a hole through which a finger can push out the sheet A from the back. The support member 21 may be of such construction that both ends thereof are folded inwardly to hold the sheet A therein. In this case, the sheet A may be slightly larger in width than the support member 21 thereby enabling the sheet A-to be securely held by its flexural rigidity against the side portions 23 of the support member 21.

Each side portion 23 is formed with a rack 24 along the outer end thereof in engagement with a pinion 25 which is rotatably provided on each side portion of the base member 20 at an adequate position, preferably in the lower portion. The pinion 25 is so attached to the base member 20 as shown in FIG. 3 such that a portion thereof slightly projects from the outer end of the base member 20 and can be rotated by a finger. The support member 21 can slidingly move relative to the base member 20 with rotation of the pinion 25, permitting the shift of the sheet A relative to the cover member B in accordance with the progress of the tricks. With such a construction having racks and pinions, the sheet A can be reliably shifted and precise adjustment is possible.

In the base member 20 may be formed apertures corresponding to those apertures in the cover member B to provide particular explanations and instructions of the play or reference to pages of a manual to thereby enhance practice.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a modification of the above structure in which a saw-toothed rack 26 is formed along an inner end of each side portion of the base member 20 in resilient engagement with a leaf spring 28 which is attached to the support member 21 in a cut-out portion 27 formed in each side portion thereof. With such a construction as above described, the sheet A can be securely shifted at every stage of the game.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a further embodiment having a different construction of the practice board. The base member 29 is provided with at least one guide rail 30 which is projectingly formed inside in either or each side portion preferably in a lower half portion of the base member 29. The sheet A has slits 31 corresponding to the guide rails 30 which are slidably fitted in the slits thereby allowing the sheet A to easily slide. In this embodiment, the cover member B is simply hinged by a hinge 32 to the base member 29 and, therefore, the present embodiment can be manufactured at a low cost.

While a few embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail, it is to be clearly understood that the invention shall not be limited thereto and may have other embodiments within the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A practice board for contract bridge, comprising a sheet having indicia marked thereon and arranged in accordance with a predetermined contract bridge game, said indicia including four sets of first indicia positioned adjacent the sides of said sheet and showing the cards of each players hand, second indicia adjacent said first indicia and showing cards to be played by each player on respective tricks, said first and second indicia being arranged in rows, trick by trick, representing thirteen tricks, two sets of third indicia, each of said two sets of said third indicia showing the number of tricks won on the preceding tricks by each partnership until the end of a deal, four sets of fourth indicia, each of said four sets of fourth indicia showing bids of each player at respective rounds of bidding in a row, a set of fifth indicia showing the order of the tricks, and a sixth indicia showing the dealer; a cover member overlying said sheet and being provided with apertures formed therein corresponding to said indicia on said sheet and through which said indicia on eachsingle trick can be seen, said apertures comprising first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth apertures corresponding to said first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth sets of indicia.- of said sheet, said first, second, third and fifth apertures being of a width sufficient to show the indicia of a single trick, said fourth and sixth apertures being arranged to show said fourth and sixth indicia when the remaining apertures show the indicia on the first trick; and means permitting said sheet to be slidingly moved relative to said cover member at the end of each trick.

2. A practice board as in claim 1, including manually operable lids provided on said cover member at said first and second apertures.

3. A practice board as in claim 2, including manually operable lids provided on said cover member at said fourth aperture.

4. A practice board as in claim 2, including a base member holding said sheet in cooperation with said cover member, said cover member and said base member spaced from each other, a support member slidably positioned between said cover member and said base member, said sheet being attached to said cover member, a rack formed within one side of said support member, a pinion rotatably mounted on one side of said base member and in engagement with said rack, whereby said support member and said sheet may slide relative to said cover member.

5. A practice board as in claim 2, including a base member holding said sheet in cooperation with said cover member, said cover member and said base member spaced from each other, a support member positioned between said cover member and said base member, a rack formed within said base member and a resilient spring latch connected to said support member and engaging said rack, whereby said support member and said sheet may slide relative to said cover member.

6. A practiceboard as in claim 2, including a base member holding said sheet in cooperation with said cover member, said base member being provided with at least one guide rail, said sheet being provided with at least one slit corresponding to said rail, said rail extending through said slit, a hinge operatively connecting said cover member to said base member, whereby said sheet may slide relative to said cover member. 

1. A practice board for contract bridge, comprising a sheet having indicia marked thereon and arranged in accordance with a predetermined contract bridge game, said indicia including four sets of first indicia positioned adjacent the sides of said sheet and showing the cards of each player''s hand, second indicia adjacent said first indicia and showing cards to be played by each player on respective tricks, said first and second indicia being arranged in rows, trick by trick, representing thirteen tricks, two sets of third indicia, each of said two sets of said third indicia showing the number of tricks won on the preceding tricks by each partnership until the end of a deal, four sets of fourth indicia, each of said four sets of fourth indicia showing bids of each player at respective rounds of bidding in a row, a set of fifth indicia showing the order of the tricks, and a sixth indicia showing the dealer; a cover member overlying said sheet and being provided with apertures formed therein corresponding to said indicia on said sheet and through which said indicia on each single trick can be seen, said apertures comprising first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth apertures corresponding to said first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth sets of indicia of said sheet, said first, second, third and fifth apertures being of a width sufficient to show the indicia of a single trick, said fourth and sixth apertures being arranged to show said fourth and sixth indicia when the remaining apertures show the indicia on the first trick; and means permitting said sheet to be slidingly moved relative to said cover member at the end of each trick.
 2. A practice board as in claim 1, including manually operable lids provided on said cover member at said first and second apertures.
 3. A practice board as in claim 2, including manually operable lids provided on said cover member at said fourth aperture.
 4. A practice board as in claim 2, including a base member holding said sheet in cooperation with said cover member, said cover member and said base member spaced from each other, a support member slidably positioned between said cover member and said base member, said sheet being attached to said cover member, a rack formed within onE side of said support member, a pinion rotatably mounted on one side of said base member and in engagement with said rack, whereby said support member and said sheet may slide relative to said cover member.
 5. A practice board as in claim 2, including a base member holding said sheet in cooperation with said cover member, said cover member and said base member spaced from each other, a support member positioned between said cover member and said base member, a rack formed within said base member and a resilient spring latch connected to said support member and engaging said rack, whereby said support member and said sheet may slide relative to said cover member.
 6. A practice board as in claim 2, including a base member holding said sheet in cooperation with said cover member, said base member being provided with at least one guide rail, said sheet being provided with at least one slit corresponding to said rail, said rail extending through said slit, a hinge operatively connecting said cover member to said base member, whereby said sheet may slide relative to said cover member. 